It was excellent! In the last month, I've been consuming Gladwell books. I have read Outliers, then David and Goliath and then I finished Blink.
All of these books were great and I recommend you check them out!
All of these books were great and I recommend you check them out!
One of the concepts he touched on in Blink was:
"Spontaneous, but not Random"
He used the following interesting analogies to explain what this means in practical terms.
Gladwell explained that in the sport of basketball, when a player is on the court during a game, they make thousands of split second spontaneous decisions, however it is far from random. There has been great preparation, coaching, plays called that all contribute to the direction and tempo of the game.
The same is true for us. In life we make many daily decisions and choices on how we spend our time that can seem somewhat spontaneous, a route we drive to work, a store we stop at, a book we decide to read, a show we watch, etc. We may say hi to a stranger in the grocery store, someone may ask us directions while we are out running (this happened to me yesterday). I have been thinking that some of these events may also not be as random as they seem. They could in fact be opportunities for us to help or bless someone, or even be helped or blessed by someone.
One spontaneous thing I have done before is ask someone what country they are from and offer to share a free movie with them that is in their native language via email using the Jesus Film App, or point them to download the app themselves. This spontaneous exchange has the opportunity to change someone's life! I would also say that it is far from random.
The same is true for us. In life we make many daily decisions and choices on how we spend our time that can seem somewhat spontaneous, a route we drive to work, a store we stop at, a book we decide to read, a show we watch, etc. We may say hi to a stranger in the grocery store, someone may ask us directions while we are out running (this happened to me yesterday). I have been thinking that some of these events may also not be as random as they seem. They could in fact be opportunities for us to help or bless someone, or even be helped or blessed by someone.
One spontaneous thing I have done before is ask someone what country they are from and offer to share a free movie with them that is in their native language via email using the Jesus Film App, or point them to download the app themselves. This spontaneous exchange has the opportunity to change someone's life! I would also say that it is far from random.
The second example Gladwell gives of Spontaneous, but not Random was Improv comedy clubs. These by nature are very spontaneous and seemingly random. To be effective in Improv there are certain guidelines and frameworks that are to be followed to keep the process flowing. While spontaneous, it is far from random. Like basketball, effective Improv is the result of good training, practice and following the basic guidelines that keep the dialogue moving. One of those rules is to always agree and say yes.
If you want to be spontaneous, it is important to start saying yes. Someone asks you to run a race, say yes. I did that recently an ran my first half-marathon. Someone invites you out to lunch, say yes. If you get the tugging on your heart to help someone in need, say yes!
This book has made me think about ways I can be more spontaneous, but not random.
My father, a pastor/missionary, who passed away last year while serving in Haiti once wrote that
"I am going to attempt to capture the eternity of the moment"
He was a man who was very spontaneous, but far from random. I learned from him that our spontaneous, momentary decisions can have an eternal impact. I encourage you to be Spontaneous today, while seeing that what we do is far from Random.
This has the potential to be a game changer in how we live our lives!
If you want to be spontaneous, it is important to start saying yes. Someone asks you to run a race, say yes. I did that recently an ran my first half-marathon. Someone invites you out to lunch, say yes. If you get the tugging on your heart to help someone in need, say yes!
This book has made me think about ways I can be more spontaneous, but not random.
My father, a pastor/missionary, who passed away last year while serving in Haiti once wrote that
"I am going to attempt to capture the eternity of the moment"
He was a man who was very spontaneous, but far from random. I learned from him that our spontaneous, momentary decisions can have an eternal impact. I encourage you to be Spontaneous today, while seeing that what we do is far from Random.
This has the potential to be a game changer in how we live our lives!
